Slight Rust on the Upper Stonewashed(?) Sandvik Portion of a ZT 0560CBCF Combo-Blade

Sikael

Sikael

Joined
Aug 30, 2014
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Hi, just looking for recommendations: I recently received a Zero Tolerance 0560CBCF -- which I really like -- but the original owner had carefully stored it in its box with the silica pack, and apparently forgot to wipe off hand oils after putting it away (or checking up on it). It happens, and it's barely noticeable, so no big deal; it hasn't dampened my enthusiasm for an otherwise beautiful and un-used knife. The combo blade is S110V on the cutting edge, with what looks like a bead-blast finish, and Sandvik steel on the spine, with what could be a stonewashed finish. There is a light concentration of rust, ever-so-faintly capturing the loops and whorls of a finger-print on the Sandvik; it's light, but it's there. I'd heard Sandvik used nitrogen in the steel matrix, so I'm surprised the corrosion resistance isn't better. If anyone knows a way to get rid of the rust without scratching up the finish, I'd be grateful for any suggestions. Thanks :)
 
Some Bar Keeper's Friend powder, mixed to a paste with water and applied to the offending spots (use a Q-Tip) for no more than 30-60 seconds and rinsed off thoroughly with running water, can often be an easy way to remove light surface rust from stainless steel. Just apply it and let it sit for that time period; no scrubbing necessary. DON'T leave the BKF on the steel for more than 60 seconds (I'd try it at 30 seconds first), as the BKF uses oxalic acid which can etch the steel by itself. Test it on an inconspicuous area (if possible) first, to verify the steel's finish won't be altered too quickly/easily by the acid.

Before doing any of that, you might also just scrub the spots with some WD-40 and a stiff brush (brass, and a steel wire brush likely won't hurt the finish either, if used lightly). Any red rust will often come off relatively easily that way, at least enough to minimize any issues.


David
 
Perfect; just the sort of remedy I was hoping might be available. Thanks for the excellent advice, Obsessed with Edges
 
Had the same thing happen to mine right before the blade cracked behind the thumbstud. Don't really know why the 14c28n rusted so easily but I used an eraser and got most of it off and some froglube and a nylon brush got the rest of the visible stuff. It didn't mar the finish. Then the dang blade cracked and I had to send it in to KAI.
 
bodog said:
Had the same thing happen to mine right before the blade cracked behind the thumbstud. Don't really know why the 14c28n rusted so easily but I used an eraser and got most of it off and some froglube and a nylon brush got the rest of the visible stuff. It didn't mar the finish. Then the dang blade cracked and I had to send it in to KAI.
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Thanks for the suggestions! It seems like ZT has used Sandvik far less, recently, and I don't get the rust problem -- sometimes steel doesn't do what I think it should do based on chemical composition. It has the same 14% chromium and 0.11% nitrogen of H1 -- but without the 6-8% nickel or 1.5% molybdenum, which both help with corrosion resistance -- so it should be better than your average stainless. Hopefully the cracked blade was a freak occurrence... but that is weird. I don't know if KAI would be able to replace an 0560CBCF blade now.
 
Kershaw/KAI had trouble a while back with rusting issues on stainless blades. Virtually all of it was due to the bead-blast finish, and less about the steel itself (Sandvik is very good steel). The attractive grey/matte finishes afforded by bead blasting or stonewashing create most of the problem, due to the microscopic dents/nooks/crannies created to give it that non-reflective finish; they also give moisture, dirt & corrosive stuff more to hold onto, which traps it on the surface of the steel and contributes to corrosion. A lot of those troubles sometimes go away after altering the surface finish, such as sanding it to a finer 'satin' or polishing it.

(cracked blades are a whole other problem, and sounds like a warranty return is justified...)


David
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
Kershaw/KAI had trouble a while back with rusting issues on stainless blades. Virtually all of it was due to the bead-blast finish, and less about the steel itself (Sandvik is very good steel). The attractive grey/matte finishes afforded by bead blasting or stonewashing create most of the problem, due to the microscopic dents/nooks/crannies created to give it that non-reflective finish; they also give moisture, dirt & corrosive stuff more to hold onto, which traps it on the surface of the steel and contributes to corrosion. A lot of those troubles sometimes go away after altering the surface finish, such as sanding it to a finer 'satin' or polishing it.

(cracked blades are a whole other problem, and sounds like a warranty return is justified...)


David
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That explains a lot, actually. The 0561 has a very nice Cerakote finish protecting the stonewashed blade that the 0560CBCF doesn't have. It's too bad the SW is detrimental to the steel, because it looks great. I'm waiting on a ZT 0392, which uses CTS-204P with a SW... hopefully that doesn't make it susceptible to rust as well.
 
No, I think I got one of, if not the, last blades they had for the 0560CBCF. It wasn't a very good one and I can see why it sat on their shelf until the end. I had to send that one back too and they replaced the whole knife with a different model.
 
bodog said:
No, I think I got one of, if not the, last blades they had for the 0560CBCF. It wasn't a very good one and I can see why it sat on their shelf until the end. I had to send that one back too and they replaced the whole knife with a different model.
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That sucks... just curious, what model did they give you? If it was a different Ltd. Edition, like the 0454, or the 0801CF, or a 0777, that would NOT suck; that would be great.
 
Out of respect for their request, I should not divulge what they replaced it with. I can say it was a knife of equal or greater value. Maybe mine was a rare circumstance or something, but it seemed like I had to go through quite a bit to get a good knife and the knife I ended up with was exactly that.
 
bodog said:
Out of respect for their request, I should not divulge what they replaced it with. I can say it was a knife of equal or greater value. Maybe mine was a rare circumstance or something, but it seemed like I had to go through quite a bit to get a good knife and the knife I ended up with was exactly that.
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I thought so... my blade's looks like it's coming apart... damn! Time to go to KAI :o . Joking, of course. It's probably easier to buy the Ltd. Ed. on the secondary than try to go through customer service -- even though I've heard their CS is excellent. I like this knife anyway, and I've got the 0392 coming, so that will satisfy my ZT addiction for a while. The kind-of secret's safe; I'd assumed they'd give someone who's knife was defective, but discontinued years ago, one of the first models of their next ltd. ed. run, or something close, maybe a model of a recent ltd. they kept for warranty purposes, or an 'xxxx' irregular model. I'm glad to hear it ended up with a satisfactory result.
 
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